Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the technical field of implants used for attaching prosthetic equipment, such as prostheses (wall reinforcements) to soft tissues, and for enabling the connecting of soft tissues.
The invention more particularly concerns the implants or staples used for the attachment of prostheses in the treatment of abdominal hernia for the repairing of soft tissue and the reconstruction of abdominal walls.
Description of Related Art
The use and fitting of implants or staples is performed using guns with loaders filled with multiple implants or staples that are all separate from each other and that are disseminated by a command action on the trigger of the gun.
The problem is that the implants are guided in a more or less random manner from the loader to the tube or barrel of the gun intended to come into contact with the prosthesis via a trocar facilitating installation by laparoscopy. In practice, this results in a misalignment of the successive implants, which gives rise to jams and malfunctioning of the gun.
Different devices exist, such as those described in the patents US 2006/0 129 154, U.S. Pat. No. 7,758,612, US 2007/0 038 220, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,431,669, 5,904,693, 5,743,880, 5,282,808, WO 93/24059, EP 1 317 213, EP 1 237 484, WO 2007/123978, FR 2 841 765, and WO 2007/123978.
The Applicant's approach was, therefore, to devise a new manner of disseminating the implants from a special gun, under conditions of better reliability, eliminating the risks of jamming and malfunctioning of the gun, which could be prejudicial during an operation in an operating room.